Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s spokesperson Alejandro Garcia spoke with the Texas Tribune stating that lieutenant governor is “strongly opposed to weakening any laws against marijuana [and] remains wary of the various medicinal use proposals that could become a vehicle for expanding access to this drug.”
Sign this petition to ask Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to reconsider his position on this issue!
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is out of step with Texans and the Texas GOP on this important issue. Texans for Expanded Access to Medical Marijuana, dubbed TEAMM, commissioned a poll, which found that 81 percent of Texas voters support the expansion of medical marijuana and 86 percent believe that doctors and researchers — as opposed to the state government — should decide when patients have access to medical marijuana. An at the state GOP convention last year, delegates to the convention adopted an official position on this subject:
Civil Penalty: We support a change in the law to make it a civil, and not a criminal, offense for legal adults only to possess one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use, punishable by a fine of up to $100, but without jail time.
Compassionate Use Act: We call upon the Texas Legislature to improve the 2015 Compassionate Use Act to allow doctors to determine the appropriate use of cannabis to certified patients.
Some may be wondering why this is such an important issue regarding our Lt. Governor. The Lieutenant Governor’s duties include appointing chairs of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The Lieutenant Governor may also cast a vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. If the Senate votes to dissolve itself into the Committee of the Whole, in which all members are part of the Committee, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the proceedings, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as a regular voting member. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the Lieutenant Governor is considered one of the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States.
This man can literally take cannabis off the agenda and keep it from being voted on in the Senate. This is why it is important that you make your voice heard and let Dan Patrick know where you stand. Sign this petition to ask Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to reconsider his position on this issue and contact his office and ask him to reconsider his stance on the issue.
If Dan Patrick believes that it’s time for a boost in teacher pay across the board in the state of Texas, expanding the current medical program could be a way of raising the funds to do so.
